Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning First Look

When it comes to MMO games, there's no question that World of Warcraft is still No. 1 on the block. Hey, you don't have to take my word for it. Just ask the millions of die-hard WoW fans that keep playing the game over 10 hours a day. You may find this hard to believe, but there may come a time when online gamers will give WoW a rest and try something different (How, about it 2lions? Think you can manage?). Well, that time might arrive sooner than we think. Right now, there are several promising MMORPGs in production, but for this occasion, we've decided to concentrate on Mythic Entertainment's latest endeavor, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning.

This bridge ain't gonna hold.

Guarding the sewers.

Unlike certain online games, which are created from the ground up, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning is based on a familiar and much-admired universe. With a strong fan-base, long history and a rich universe, Warhammer provides the ideal cornerstone for an MMORPG. As you may or may not recall, the development of a Warhammer MMO actually began several years ago, until the entire project was canned by Climax Entertainment. Thankfully, the game was snatched by the crew at Mythic Entertainment, who were already acknowledged for their highly praised title, Dark Age of Camelot. In fact, Warhammer Online is already being hailed as the spiritual successor to DAoC.

This time around, the game itself primarily centers on Player vs. Player as well as Realm vs. Realm combat. One of the key features is to allow players to enter the fray from the get go. Basically, this means each player is given the opportunity to engage in combat with other players right at the beginning of the game, as opposed to the exhausted concept of marching into rat-infested sewers or dungeons in order to gain experience. Although PvE (or, Player vs. Environment) will also be essential, the game's true potential lies in RvR and PvP battles. Well, that's good to know, since well-balanced PvP is usually the defining characteristic of any half-way decent MMORPG (that's what they keep telling me, anyways). Even though Age of Reckoning is mostly PvP oriented, those of you who prefer to fight on your own, are always welcome to take part in PvE-related quests. Some of these quests are group quests, while others can be soloed. These often involve a few assignments that can either lead to considerable cash rewards or additional experience points. For example, in a particular quest you are required to snatch the enemy's battle plans. Later on, you can decide whether or not to hand the plans over to the general, in which case you are awarded with additional experience, or to sell them to a rival spy (i.e. you get a cash reward for your trouble).

As you'd expect it, Warhammer Online: AoR offers a wide selection of fantasy-style races and classes to choose from. The epic storyline (which is explained in admirable detail on the game's official web site) describes six key races, engaged in everlasting conflict. To put it simply, the Elves, Dwarves and the Empire (humans) have formed the forces of the so-called Order, while Greenskins, Dark Elves and Hordes of Chaos have allied to form the Forces of Destruction. To cut a long story short, the war rages on between these two alliances... and it just goes on from there. Each race has an appropriate counterpart in the opposing alliance.

The cool thing is that the developers have refused to burden gamers with numerous clichéd class types, which is why the characters are essentially categorized into two general fields: fighting and sorcery. Not all races are inclined towards a specific field. For example, the Greenskins have three fighter classes and one class devoted to sorcery and magic (such as the Goblin Shaman), whereas the Dwarves have two combat-based classes and two magic-wielding classes. Anyhow, each class has a certain area of expertise. If you're playing as, say, a Dwarf Iron Breaker, your avatar will focus on heavy defense, which makes him a fairly tough opponent for other players. Then again, other Dwarf classes rely on their ability to attack, rather than resorting to their defensive skills - such as, the Hammerers. These guys are extremely vicious in combat. As their colorful name suggests, they wield mighty hammers and are very adept at crushing their opponents to bits. Even though Dwarfs are essentially self-confident fighters, mostly proficient in melee combat, some of them have devoted themselves to studying magic. Hence, the inclusion of the Dwarf Runepriest class. Apart from using powerful spells and incantations, Runepriests are well-known for their unique and tremendously effective healing abilities. They can also place certain runes on equipment, which can also prove extremely useful throughout the game. They do have one quirk though. Unfortunately, Runepriests aren't all that polite, so don't be surprised if you hear them swearing fanatically while they heal you (don't take it personally; they just have a bad temper, that's all).

Some aspects of the game, preserve the spirit of the Warhammer universe. Mythic Entertainment has promised to incorporate epic battles and dark humor, on top of several elements that are consistent with the Warhammer setting (such as the exclusion of Orc females). The developers also decided to include other familiar races, which will, no doubt, be recognized by true-hearted Warhammer enthusiasts. Races like Skaven, Bretonnians and Lizardmen were included as NPCs... for the time being at least. They are also considering to make these races playable in upcoming expansion packs for the game. At any rate, it's nice to see that Mythic is optimistic about the whole project and that they are already working with a few ideas for future projects.

The creative team at Mythic spent a significant amount of time in creating the environment, as well as the character models and NPCs. According to them, it's important to allow a distinct appearance for each and every character that enters the game. In other words, you'll be able to distinguish different characters from the moment you lay eyes on them. Each race and class will alter in appearance as they level up. Inexperienced Orcs, for instance, look shorter than more advanced Orcs, while Dwarves keep growing longer beards as they progress. In addition to that, character animation is being fine-tuned complete with detailed facial animations to ensure diverse character emotions and feelings like anger, sadness, happiness, fear, etc.).

Ah, so scenic...

For the dwarf king!

Once again, the idea behind Warhammer Online is to encourage PvP right from the start. Still, Mythic has taken into consideration that newbie players usually shy away from PvP combat, therefore starting areas will always offer major PvE oriented quests as you commence your adventure. In the end, the choice is entirely yours. It's possible to experience the entire game without ever getting involved in PvP conflicts - if your goal it to finish quests and battle monsters and NPCs. On the other hand, the developers are hoping to lure newcomers into fighting against other characters and taking part in PvP battles (which is exactly why MMO games are so addictive). Your avatar can acquire as much experience and items from PvP combat, as he would when playing ordinary quests. At any rate, you'll find that contested territories are visible and very close to other crucial areas in the game.

That's about all the info we have for you at this time. It's commendable that Mythic Entertainment means to encourage gamers to experience MMO games the way they should be experienced - by interacting with other players as much as possible. Of course, the game doesn't force you to do anything you don't want to do. You'll have the freedom to play any way you want and develop your avatar as you see fit.

We are still a long way away from the final version. A public beta will, undoubtedly, arrive prior to the game's release and we also hope to catch a glimpse of Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning at this year's E3.